MELBOURNE defender James Strauss was undergoing surgery on his horribly broken leg on Saturday night after smashing his fibula and tibia in a marking contest with Carlton's Jeff Garlett in the opening quarter

The 21-year-old was also joined at Epworth Hospital by concussed teammate Luke Tapscott.

Strauss was taken straight to the Richmond hospital and was in the operating theatre as caretaker coach Todd Viney completed his post-match press conference following Melbourne's 76-point loss to Carlton at the MCG.

The Demons hit the front the minute after Strauss went down, but after the stretcher cart took him from the field, the Blues dominated and kicked 12 goals to one to end the half.

Viney said it was hard to know whether the graphic nature of Strauss' injury, which drew gasps from the crowd as the incident was replayed on the big screen, affected his players.

"It probably doesn't help but it was terrible. He's getting operated on at the moment," he said.

"The boys are concerned for his well being and I'm sure they'll be calling him, but it's a terrible injury.

"It's one of those ones if you're playing and you see it, it can really shock you so I'm not sure the total effect on the players; I haven't spoken to them enough to know that but we can't really blame that."

The injury had nasty similarities to those sustained by Fremantle's Michael Barlow and former Richmond and Western Bulldogs forward Nathan Brown, Strauss's leg also deviating at an unnatural angle.

Barlow was the most recent to sustain the awful injury, with his leg break occurring in round 14 last year when teammate Rhys Palmer slid into him.

He spent 11 months on the sidelines before making his comeback in the WAFL in late May, and has since played four AFL games.

Viney said Tapscott, who had already been shaken from a collision with Colin Garland in the third quarter, was being examined for neck damage.

"He got a real knock to the head, and I think that's going to be a common occurrence in his career with the way he attacks the footy," he said.

"He's got a little bit of referred neck pain, which was our main concern there so we're getting him checked out."

Tapscott was knocked out at the eight-minute mark of the final term after his head collided with teammate Stef Martin's hip.

He was unconscious for a period and lay on his stomach in the Blues' forward 50, before trainers turned him over and applied a neck brace. He was conscious when he was driven from the field.